Family homes and greenfield land across Brighton and Hove are at risk, local Conservatives have warned.
They have come up with a series of proposals aimed at protecting traditional homes and saving green spaces.
They said that they also wanted stronger measures to “deliver a low-carbon economy” in line with local residents’ concerns about the environment.
Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth said that the risks arose out of a strategic blueprint for Brighton and Hove known as City Plan Part 2. Click here to see it.
Brighton and Hove City Council is due to submit City Plan Part 2 for government approval but Councillor Nemeth criticised the Labour-run council’s proposals.
He said that the rules left little room to make meaningful change to the City Plan document – but his party had come up with 30 crucial amendments.
Councillor Nemeth said: “Key to our strategy is encouraging the creation and protection of homes of all shapes and sizes rather than accepting the continued push for smaller and smaller homes.
“As part of this, we will be moving to stop the continued assault by the Labour/Green administration on family homes.
“Our amendments seek to ensure that there is a place for everyone in our city in the future.
“Continuing our successful work to protect green spaces and promote biodiversity, we are embracing residents’ concern for the environment by taking a stand against the destruction of more greenfield land.
“As Conservatives we have fought time and again to protect greenfield land and we will be taking up that fight on behalf of residents once again.
“Labour’s failure to bring forward brownfield sites in Brighton and Hove for development over its five years in administration has led to this alarming plan to push into greenfield land, much of which contains important and rare species of plant.
“The environment should not have to suffer because of this Labour administration’s mismanagement of the housing portfolio.
“We will also be moving to ensure that this plan actually delivers a thriving low-carbon economy while boosting our economy.
“We have great concerns that the plan does not go far enough and that it will be out of date before it is implemented. This must be addressed.”
Conservative group leader Steve Bell said that the environment should not have to suffer because of the Labour administration’s failure to properly develop brownfield land in the city.
Councillor Bell said: “The Labour administration, which has been in power for five years, has failed to unlock the potential of brownfield sites in the city.
“Residents often comment on the many vacant brownfield sites and empty plots of land they see dotted around the city which Labour has not managed or developed properly.
“We have fought to protect our greenfield land in the past and our Conservative group will take a strong stand against the development of the city’s greenfield land.”
The City Plan is Brighton and Hove’s development plan to 2030. Work started on City Plan Part 1 in 2011 and it was adopted in 2016.
City Plan Part 2 includes greater detail. It identifies and allocates specific sites for development and sets out a detailed framework to help councillors and officials decide whether to approve or reject planning applications.
The medium-term planning blueprint is one of the biggest pieces of work to be carried out by the council.
It was due to be debated and voted on at a meeting of the full council on Thursday 2 April but this has been temporarily postponed due to the covid-19 coronavirus crisis.
WE NEED LABOUR NOT CONSERVATIVES
MORE COUNCIL HOUSES
REAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING – 50K NOT 200K
MORE BENEFITS
PAY EVERYONE THE SAME
MORE EQUAL WORLD
Maybe a lesson to be learned from the Covid situation is we do not want to keep packing people in together. In densely populated areas viruses spread rapidly
Empty Russian mansion still there though along with empty flats owned by Chinese !!!
How about we stop breeding like the world only needs human beings in it and start allowing other species to survive alongside us? There is absolutely no reason why human beings need to continue to overpopulate this planet in the way they have been because all that does is create suffering for too many through lack of food, housing, healthcare etc not to mention the misery and suffering it has brought to many species of animal, bird, insect and plant as we replace great swathes of nature with construction. And right now, it looks to me like Mother Nature understands that, as sad as that is for many of us. We have happily culled species into extinction for centuries, believing that our needs outweigh the needs of all others. Now we are being culled, the irony.
I agree
It’s easy for the Tory’s to moan about labour’s and Greens Brighton and Hove housing plans The Tory government have no plans on building more new homes just sell off houses to private landlords or put in leaseholders who never get to own there own homes
Er!!! ???? Councillor Nemeth has clearly failed to mention that it is the Tory government policy (i.e his own party) to have high housing targets based on shoddy population projection evidence !